Combination handwheels and handwheel clutches for sewing machines



Nov. 21, 1967 l. A. LESLIE 3,353,640

COMBINATION HANDWHEELS AND HANDWHEEL CLUTCHES FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Aug. 27, 1965 hhlll "P/ f a a Inventor IVAN A. LESLIE, deceased BY CATHERINE M. LESLIE, Execufrl'x United States Patent 3 Claims. Cl. 192-67) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device including a rotary member having a hollow cylindrical portion, a tiltable plate removably locked to a shaft of a sewing machine and closing the open end of the cylindrical portion, and an over-center blade spring for holding the tiltable plate selectively in a substantially perpendicular position relative to the shaft with a projection on the tiltable plate abutting abutment means inside the cylindrical portion to lock the rotary member to the shaft for driving the shaft and in an oblique position with the projection clearing the abutment means to permit the rotary member to rotate freely for driving a bobbin winder for example, without driving the shaft.

This invention relates to combination handwheels and handwheel clutches for the ends of sewing machine shafts and more particularly to a handwheel clutch for a sewing machine in which a handwheel can be declutched from a main drive shaft by light manual pressure on a tiltable member at the end of the handwheel.

In a typical sewing machine, a handwheel is provided which is rotated by a prime mover and in turn rotates a main drive shaft. In many instances, a bobbin winder is provided which is driven by frictional contact with the handwheel. Since the main drive shaft drives all of the other mechanisms in the sewing machine, when winding thread on a bobbin it is desirable to declutch the handwheel frorn the main drive shaft. Present handwheel clutches tend to detract from the aesthetic appearances of sewing machines.

It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide an improved combination handwheel and handwheel clutch for the end of a sewing machine shaft.

Another object of the invention is to provide a combination handwheel and handwheel clutch for a sewing machine which is especially pleasing in appearance.

The main feature of the invention is the provision for a novel means for declutching a handwheel clutch by light manual pressure on a tiltable member at the end of the handwheel. The foregoing feature permits handwheel designs for sewing machines which are especially attractive.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view in vertical section of part of a combination handwheel and handwheel clutch according to the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a view in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is a plan view in horizontal section of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings, a combination handwheel and handwheel clutch is provided for a sewing machine for releasably connecting a rotary member 10 to a driven shaft 11. By way of explanation, the shaft, when incorpo- 70 rated in a sewing machine, drives feed and loop-forming mechanisms and also drives (through a belt from said ICC shaft) a shaft for actuating the needle mechanism of the machine. The said rotary member 10, in this embodiment, also serves as a handwheel and as -a drive member for a bobbin-winding device in the sewing machine, and includes a hollow cylindrical portion 12 extending from a front end wall 13 which is provided with a central bearing aperture and which is provided at its interior face with abutment means in the form of a plurality (for example, six) of circumferentially-spaced slot-like openings 14. Conveniently, said openings are recesses formed by securing a peripherally-notched sheet-metal insert plate 15 against said end wall. The curved peripheral outer surface 16 of said cylindrical portion on the rotary member, when fitted in a sewing machine, is engaged by a drive belt from a motor, and is frictionally engageable by a drive wheel of the bobbin-winding device, when the latter is in an operative position. The aforesaid driven shaft 11 of this clutch device freely (that is, non-drivingly) engages into the central bearing aperture in the end wall 13, and said shaft 11 projects rearwards from said wall, and has mounted on its rear end a tilt-able plate 17 having a dog projection 18 and constituting the driven member of the clutch. Said plate 17 is disposed inside the aforesaid cylindrical portion 12 and is connected to the driven shaft by a set-screw 19, which may serve as a pivot pin, and a pivot pin 20. The set-screw 19 is disposed at right angles to the driven shaft axis and is journalled in a bearing hole in a bracket 20a on the tiltable plate and threaded into a tapped hole in a block or collar 21 secured to the shaft. Holding means, in the form of an over-centre spring, such as a blade spring 22, acts between the block or collar 21 and a V-shaped part 23 of the plate 17, and the arrangement is such that the plate 17 can, by manual pressure on its rear face 24, be tilted, about the aforesaid pivot pin, against the action of the spring 22, between an operative position, in which the dog projection 18 drivingly engages one of the slot-like apertures 14 in the drive member, and an inoperative or de-clutched position, in which the dog projection lies clear of said apertures. The spring is arranged so that a dead-center position is passed when moving the plate from its operative to its inoperative position, and vice-versa.

Thus, when the clutch device is fitted in a sewing machine as aforesaid and it is desired to wind the bobbin and disconnect the drive to the needle and feed and loopforming mechanisms the dog-carrying plate 17 is tilted manually about the axis of its pivot, that is, about an axis at right angles to the axis of the driven shaft, to disengage the dog projection. When the bobbin is wound, the plate can be moved back to cause the dog projection to re-engage the drive member.

In the particular embodiment described, the plate, when in its engaged position, is at right angles to the shaft axis, and when in its de-clutched position is oblique to the shaft axis.

Although the invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made by ways of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A combination handwheel and handwheel clutch for the end of a sewing machine shaft comprising a rotary member having a hole for rotat-ably mounting on the end of the sewing machine shaft, a hollow cylindrical portion extending from the outer end of the rotary member, a collar, a tiltable plate having a diameter slightly less than the inner diameter of the hollow cylindrical portion of the rotary member, a bracket protruding from the reverse side of the tiltable plate, pivot means for pivotally connecting the bracket to the collar, lockingmeans for locking the collar to the sewing machine shaft so that the tiltable plate closes the open end of the hollow cylindrical portion on the rotary member, abutment means on the end of the rotary member from which the hollow cylindrical portion extends, a projection also pro truding from the reverse side of the tiltable plate, and an over-center blade spring between the collar and the reverse side of the tiltable plate for holding the tiltable plate after light manual pressure on the obverse side selectively in a substantially perpendicular position relative to the sewing machine shaft with the projection on the tiltable plate abutting the abutment means to lock the rotary member to the sewing machine shaft and in an oblique position relative to the sewing machine shaft with the projection on the tiltable plate clearing the abutment means to permit the rotary member to rotate freely on the sewing machine shaft.

2. The combination handwheel and handwheel clutch of claim 1 which includes an insert plate having openings and connected to the end of the rotary member from References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 300,959 6/1884 Dancel 192--67 1,142,787 6/1915 Landsiedel. 1,315,578 9/1919 Rock 192-67 2,444,148 6/1948 Warwick 19267 X 20 MARK M. NEWMAN, Primary Examiner.

ARTHUR T. MCKEON, Examiner. 

1. A COMBINATION HANDWHEEL AND HANDWHEEL CLUTCH FOR THE END OF A SEWING MACHINE SHAFT COMPRISING A ROTARY MEMBER HAVING A HOLE FOR ROTATABLY MOUNTING ON THE END OF THE SEWING MACHINE SHAFT, A HOLLOW CYLINDRICAL PORTION EXTENDING FROM THE OUTER END OF THE ROTARY MEMBER, A COLLAR, A TILTABLE PLATE HAVING A DIAMETER SLIGHTLY LESS THAN THE INNER DIAMETER OF THE HOLLOW CYLINDRICAL PORTION OF THE ROTARY MEMBER, A BRACKET PROTRUDING FROM THE REVERSE SIDE OF THE TILTABLE PLATE, PIVOT MEANS FOR PIVOTALLY CONNECTING THE BRACKET TO THE COLLAR, LOCKING MEANS FOR LOCKING THE COLLAR TO THE SEWING MACHINE SHAFT SO THAT THE TILTABLE PLATE CLOSES THE OPEN END OF THE HOLLOW CYLINDRICAL PORTION ON THE ROTARY MEMBER, ABUTMENT MEANS ON THE END OF THE ROTARY MEMBER, ABUTMENT HOLLOW CYLINDRICAL PORTION EXTENDS, A PROJECTION ALSO PROTRUDING FROM THE REVERSE SIDE OF THE TILTABLE PLATE, AND AN OVER-CENTER BLADE SPRING BETWEEN THE COLLAR AND THE REVERSE SIDE OF THE TILTABLE PLATE FOR HOLDING THE TILTABLE PLATE AFTER LIGHT MANUAL PRESSURE ON THE OBVERSE SIDE SELECTIVELY IN A SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR POSITION RELATIVE TO THE SEWING MACHINE SHAFT WITH THE PROJECTION ON THE TILTABLE PLATE ABUTTING THE ABUTMENT MEANS TO LOCK THE ROTARY MEMBER TO THE SEWING MACHINE SHAFT AND IN AN OBLIQUE POSITION RELATIVE TO THE SEWING MACHINE SHAFT WITH THE PROJECTION ON THE TILTABLE PLATE CLEARING THE ABUTMENT MEANS TO PERMIT THE ROTARY MEMBER TO ROTATE FREELY ON THE SEWING MACHINE SHAFT. 